Festin' & Fun at Nightfest 2025
As music lovers worldwide prepare for a pilgrimage to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, NOLA venue Café Istanbul has shared its full slate of 2025 Nightfest shows, set to keep the music going each night after the Fair Grounds go dark.
Among the most eye-catching listings on
the Café Istanbul Nightfest schedule are Melvin
Seals & JGB, the annual all-star AXIAL TILT Grateful Dead tribute featuring
members of Dark Star Orchestra, the return of Robert Walter and Current Futures, and a slew of rare bands
and tributes featuring members of The Disco Biscuits, The Nth Power, Billy
& The Kids, The Dead, Phil Lesh & Friends, Les Claypool's Fearless
Flying Frog Brigade, and more [get tickets here].
The 2025 Café Istanbul
Nightfest lineup has a little something for everyone, kicking off on Thursday,
April 24 at 9:00 p.m. with Current Futures. After a celebrated debut during
last year's Jazz Fest, organist Robert Walter
(The Greyboy Allstars, Mike Gordon) presents another high-level adventure
featuring drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic),
Walter's Greyboy Allstars bandmate Chris
Stillwell on bass, saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum (Dap-Kings), and
Grammy-nominated guitarist Will
Bernard.
Café Istanbul will also
host several high-profile tributes as part of Nightfest 2025, starting with a
two-night stint by AXIAL TILT on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26 at
10 p.m. The annual all-star Grateful Dead tribute event—this year celebrating
the Grateful Dead's 60th anniversary—includes Grammy-winning singer Joan Osborne (The Dead), guitarists Stu Allen (Phil Lesh & Friends) and Rob Eaton (Dark Star Orchestra),
keyboardist Mitch Stein (Cryptical,
GATORATORS), bassist Skip Vangelas (Dark
Star Orchestra), drummer Pate
Lavezzoli (Jazz Is Dead), and drummer Wally Ingram (David Lindley, David Nelson), plus
special guests.
Other favorites on the Nightfest calendar include a rare performance from jazz fusion favorites Garaj Mahal (bassist Kai Eckhardt, keyboardist Oz Ezzeldin, guitarist Fareed Haque, and drummer Hassan Hurd) on Sunday, April 27 at 9 p.m., as well as NOLATET on Wednesday, April 30 at 8 p.m., featuring legendary drummer Johnny Vidacovich, bassist James Singleton, pianist Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Punkadelick), and percussionist Mike Dillon (Les Claypool, Punkadelick).
